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ACCREDITATION NEWS

ACGME CONFERENCE

The ACGME Annual Educational Conference (AEC) was held in Orlando, FL March 9 – 12. This year’s AEC, themed “Igniting Innovation”, covered a wide range of topics appropriate for program directors, coordinators, designated institutional officials (DIOs), and other institutional leadership. Much of this year’s conference focused on physician well-being, faculty development, and early experience with the self-study process. During the conference, Tom Nasca, MD, MACP, the ACGME’s CEO, outlined the revisions to the ACGME’s Common Program Requirements. The revised requirements, which go into effect July 1, 2017, include changes to further promote patient safety, resident and fellow well-being, and flexibility in work hours to promote interprofessional team-based care within the 80-hour maximum weekly limit. More detailed information including helpful explanatory documents (“Common Program Requirements (Section VI) with Background and Intent,” and “Section VI Q&A”) are available at https://acgmecommon.org/2017_requirements.

Kelley Skeff, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University (and 2015 Partners Med Ed Visiting Professor), delivered the keynote address: “Current Medical Education: Issues for Reflection.” Acknowledging the growing negative response to education and practice experienced by both attendings and trainees, Dr. Skeff called for the expansion of patient-centered and system-centered care to include the caring for and well-being of the providers themselves. He encouraged the audience to look beyond teaching resilience and instead look for innovative approaches to address current challenges in medicine and reshape the experience of medical training. In his discussion of various educational theories, Dr. Skeff embraced the idea of teaching medical knowledge in a way that focuses on experiential learning and avoids cognitive overload, provides training in deliberate practice, and shapes trainee attitudes by incorporating value-based motivation.

A NEWSLETTER FOR GME PROGRAM DIRECTORS

AND STAFF VOLUME 11, ISSUE 2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

ACGME CONFERENCE 1

2017 PARTNERS GME MEDICAL EDUCATION AWARDS 2

EDUCATION COMMITTEE NEWS 3

COE UPDATES 5

WELCOME TO THE GME COMMUNITY 6

BRIEF NOTES 7

SAVE THE DATE 8

PARTNERS GME OFFICES AND PERSONNEL 10

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2017 PARTNERS GME MEDICAL EDUCATION AWARDS

“A wonderful teacher and incredible mentor” and “an exemplary leader and educator” are two of the phrases used to describe this year’s recipients of the Partners Medical Education Awards. The awards, which recognize outstanding achievements in medical education by Partners HealthCare faculty, staff and trainees, have been given annually since the program was launched by the Graduate Medical Education office in 2010.

This year’s celebratory dinner was held on Monday, February 27, 2017 at the Top of the Hub Skywalk in Boston. An informal reception was followed by a dinner and recognition program. Debra Weinstein, MD, Vice President for Graduate Medical Education, served as emcee and invited nominators to say a few words about each of the awardees. The dinner also provided an opportunity for outgoing Residency and Fellowship Program Directors, some of whom were in attendance, to be recognized and thanked by John Co, MD, MPH, GME Director, and for Dr. Weinstein to thank the Centers of Expertise leaders.

The Medical Education Awards Subcommittee, chaired by Matina Horner, PhD, evaluated multiple nominations for each award category before selecting the winners. The committee includes members of the Partners Education Committee and past award recipients.

The Outstanding GME Program Director Award was presented to Aidan Long, MD, MGH Allergy and Immunology Fellowship Program Director by Kimberly Blumenthal, MD. Nominators credit Dr. Long’s dedication, leadership and skill with achieving profound improvements in the character, quality, national profile and overall caliber of the training program.

The Outstanding GME Program Administrator Award was presented to Wendy DeMille, PHS Nephrology Fellowship Program Administrator, by Kevin Tucker, MD. Ms. DeMille has been described as “an outstanding Program Administrator who goes to great lengths to make our Program not only outstanding, but the best in the country.”

The Outstanding Clinical Teacher Award was given to James Bartz, MD, NWH Department of Medicine by Robert Rogers, MD. Dr. Bartz has been described by the residents he has worked with as “a consummate clinician and educator and a great role model for kind and conscientious care.”

The Medical Education Research Award was given to Kerri Palamara, MD, MGH Department of Medicine. Dr. Katrina Armstrong presented the award, which recognizes Dr. Palamara’s study entitled “Professional Development Coaching of Residents”. Since its implementation at MGH in 2012, this program has been adopted wholly or in part by 18 other residency programs around the country.

The Outstanding Mentor Award was bestowed on Drs. Julie Silver, MD, SRH Department of Physiatry and Beverly Woo, MD, BWH Department of Medicine. The awards were presented by Drs. Anna Bank and Rebecca Berman respectively. Dr. Silver was described as “a passionate medical educator who provides superlative mentoring for trainees at all stages of learning and career planning.” As expressed by Dr. Woo’s mentees, “Dr. Woo’s lifelong commitment to serving the medical community and supporting her patients is amazing. She encourages each of her students to dream big and pursue a life of medical excellence.”

The awards,

which recognize

outstanding

achievements in

medical education by

Partners HealthCare

faculty, staff and

trainees, have been

given annually since

the program was

launched by the

Graduate Medical

Education office

in 2010.

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EDUCATION COMMITTEE NEWS

BWH EDUCATION COMMITTEE

The March BWH Education Committee meeting commenced with a discussion of the new Common Program Requirements which were recently approved by the ACGME to go in effect as of July 1, 2017. The committee then reviewed and approved 1) a program director transition for the Endocrinology fellowship from Matthew Kim, MD to Ole-Petter Hamnvik, MD effective July 1, 2017 and 2) the addition of the VA hospital as a participating site for the Thoracic Surgery program, to allow for daily operative experience in cardiopulmonary bypass cases. Committee members were also informed about 1) recent RRC correspondence related to the accreditation statuses of several ACGME programs, 2) the recommendations from the Internal and Special Reviews,

The Resident/Fellow as Teacher Award was shared by Drs. Gifty Kwakye, MD, BWH Department of Surgery and David Beckmann, MD, MGH/McLean, Department of Psychiatry. The awards were presented by Drs. Bryan Dieffenbach and Jennifer Goetz respectively. Dr. Kwayke has been described as “incredibly patient, helpful, and most importantly, a thorough teacher.” As expressed by Dr. Beckmann’s nominators “We can think of no one who better exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding teacher-dedication, passion, enthusiasm, creativity and tirelessness.”

The Georgi Bland GME Institutional Citizenship Award was given to David Silbersweig, MD, BWH Department of Psychiatry. As expressed by Dr. Silbersweig’s nominators “He recognizes the value of helping others win, in that through their success the larger system also achieves its greatest successes.”

The deadline for nominations for the 2017 Award Recipients will be mid-summer. For more information, please visit the GME website or contact Jean Tammaro at jtammaro@partners.org.

Winners of 2017 PHS Medical Education Awards: L to R – Silbersweig, DeMille, Silver, Kwakye, Woo, Horner (Award Selection Committee Chair), Palamara, Long, Bartz, Beckmann

“ We can think

of no one who

better exemplifies

the qualities of

an outstanding

teacher-dedication,

passion, enthusiasm,

creativity and

tirelessness.”

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and 3) a response from the Thoracic Surgery program to a prior Special Review report. Dr. Weinstein updated the committee on the impact and current status of the presidential executive order on immigration, and offered continued support to programs that may be affected. Dr. Robert Birnbaum, the Vice President of Partners Continuing Professional Development, was then asked to present on the work being done by the Learning Systems Task Force to help analyze and propose learning strategies that will better align with the new care delivery models which are driving the need for more training. The committee also heard from Dr. Weinstein on the Partners 2.0 efforts which are broadly focused on streamlining activities in ways that will achieve cost savings while enhancing care and the experience of patients and employees. It is not anticipated that significant direct cost savings will be identified in education, but streamlining learning systems and committees are current goals. The meeting concluded with Dr. Weinstein summarizing program directors’ comments on the Annual Program Evaluation form in response to: “how can the GME Office and/or institution can assist with program improvement?,” with comments about current activities, future plans and an invitation for additional input.

The next meeting will be held on Friday, September 8, 2017 at 9 am in the Zinner Board Room.

MGH GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE/ECOTE GME SUBCOMMITTEE

At the February MGH GMEC meeting, Dr. Co reported highlights of the ACGME’s CLER visit report. Since the prior CLER visit, programs have improved on the use of IPASS for hand-offs. Engagement of trainees and faculty in quality improvement still has much room for improvement. The site visitors reported that some trainees are still uncomfortable phoning attendings during nights and weekends. Dr. Weinstein discussed the impact of the Presidential Executive Order on Immigration, and noted that the GME Office is working with the Partners Office for International Professionals and Students (PIPS). PIPS will continue to post news updates on their website: http://pips.partners.org/. The ACGME is now making Residency Milestone reports available to fellowship program directors after the fellow starts the program. The Committee discussed whether and how these reports are helpful to the programs, and potential concerns about using them in ways not in keeping with their design. The ACGME correspondence received since the last meeting involved a Continued Accreditation with Warning for one of the MGH programs. The program has made significant changes and is pursuing an appeal. Dr. Co gave a brief update on the continuing efforts of the Partners 2.0 Credentialing Task Force, which seeks to gain efficiencies related to trainee credentialing at multiple institutions.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, October 5, 2017 at 1 pm in the Trustees Room.

PARTNERS EDUCATION COMMITTEE

At the February, 2017 meeting, Dr. Klibanski summarized the current status of the Partners 2.0 Educational Initiative and how it will move forward. An initial working group of key education leaders from BWH and MGH have convened to develop preliminary proposals, which will be vetted through a wider group of stakeholders. Principles and goals being developed include:

1) Optimize the education system across Partners by enhancing educational quality, incorporating the broad scope of learners, and leading in education innovation;

2) Improve the experience of our trainees via greater program accountability, and consideration of when to integrate programs;

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3) Support the broader community of educators, including with forums for sharing best practices, supporting career development, and fostering interdisciplinary care teams.

The proximate goal is to simplify and streamline the education committee structure and functions, clarify decision making rights, and leverage PEC to support and align components of the education system while reinforcing hospital-based education committee roles including responsibility for individual GME programs.

Fellowship Program Proposals:n The McLean Women’s Mental Health Program’s Part 2 application was discussed and

the program was approved.n The Part 1 concept proposals for two Neurology fellowships were considered - the

MGH Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Clinical Research fellowship and the MGH Small Fiber Neuropathy fellowship – and both were approved to move into the final Part 2 application process.

Health Information Services recently informed the GME Office that Partners requires that policies be reviewed every three years. Therefore, over the next few PEC meetings, policies will be reviewed for potential updates, revised where appropriate, and brought to the Committee.

Dr. Weinstein reviewed the UME and GME Task Force charge and described the process, which involved a pre-meeting survey and three meetings supplemented by subgroup work off-line. Three focus areas and recommendations for each were identified: Assessment; Joint Core Curricula; and Career Development. Next steps were discussed.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, August 3, 2017 at 8:30 am in the Zinner Board Room.

COE UPDATES

Each year the Partners’ Centers of Expertise (COEs) offer four “mini”-courses that provide valued enrichment experiences and consistently fill to capacity:

n COE in Global and Humanitarian Health hosts the Global Health Symposium,

n COE in Health Policy and Management hosts the Health Policy Course and co-sponsors the Value Based Healthcare Delivery Course with Harvard Business School

n COE in Medical Education hosts the Clinical Teaching Skills Course

This article highlights the Health Policy and Clinical Teaching Skills courses.

The one-day Clinical Teaching Skills Course has been held for the past four years and took place this academic year on February 2, 2017. The course site alternates between MGH and BWH, but includes trainees from across Partners. This year, 31 trainees from 9 departments across six institutions gathered in BWH’s Zinner Breakout Room to participate in sessions on the following topics: challenges of clinical teaching, how adults learn and implications for teaching, giving feedback, addressing challenging learners, and bedside teaching at different levels. During lunch, trainees joined in small-group conversations about balancing teaching with other professional responsibilities; teaching in the presence of patients; career development in education; feedback and evaluation; and engaging in educational research. Trainees appreciated the opportunity to focus on these important topics while simultaneously wearing the hat of teacher and learner. Course evaluation comments included:

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n “I am actually applying for a Masters of Medical Education after this course. I found that it’s worth it to study the science of medical education.”

n “This was a great course! I learned so much about how human beings learn and ways to use these strategies in daily interactions with trainees. Doctors aren’t born with knowledge of how to teach!”

The Health Policy course is a week-long (5-day) course delving into all aspects of health policy. The course has been offered for the past six years, and each year the sessions are split between the BWH and MGH campuses. 27 trainees from 11 departments across 7 institutions gathered to explore topics including international health systems, ACA, Medicare, how doctors are paid, GME governance and financing, implications of the election on health care reform, health equity and quality, population health management, health care spending growth, and data disparities. One highlight was a career development panel describing different paths toward incorporating Health Policy into a health care career. A small group project is build into the course, providing an opportunity to collaborate with trainees in other departments while exploring a topic that is not covered in the course. As an extension of the course, participants have an opportunity to participate in a local health policy day. This is not mandatory, but offers a unique opportunity to learn about policy issues in our back yard, how they affect Partners, and ways to be more active in local policy. Trainees commented that:n “[The course] has informed my knowledge of opportunities to work within the

current and changing health care system to use my areas of expertise to inform population health and preventive services.”

n “It has inspired me to further pursue my career goal of being involved in health policy.”

n “It’s given me a better understanding of health policy, the current issues, and potential solutions.”

We are currently accepting applications for the health policy course. It will be held March 6-9, 2018. Additional information about COE programming is available at: www.partners.org/COE or by emailing Sadie Barocas, GME Program Manager, at PHSCOE@partners.org.

WELCOME TO GME COMMUNITY

March 1, 2017 through April 15, 2017

Welcome to the following incoming program directors: Judy Hung, MD, BWH EchocardiographyDavid King, MD, MGH Surgical Critical Care, and Acute Care Surgery

We would like to acknowledge the following Program Directors who have recently stepped down and thank them for their contributions to medical education:Michael Picard, MD, BWH EchocardiographyMarc DeMoya, MD, MGH Surgical Critical Care, and Acute Care Surgery

Welcome to new program staff:Katie Blaikie, Spaulding Rehab PM&R programsCaitlin Lefton, BWH Cardiothoracic Surgery; and Endovascular Cardiac SurgeryRuth Sieck, BWH Pathology fellowship programs

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BRIEF NOTES

NEW PROGRAM APPROVAL PROCESS

Departments, Divisions, and physicians interested in starting a new GME program should review the GME webpage for Program Leaders: http://www.partners.org/Graduate-Medical-Education/Program-Leaders/Start-A-Program/Default.aspx. The Partners Education Committee is now utilizing a two-part process in an effort to avoid unnecessary work for those developing programs. The first step involves presenting a concept proposal to the Committee, after vetting the proposal through departmental and hospital leadership. If preliminary approval is granted (for the program concept), the GME staff will help guide you in developing the program curriculum, evaluation tools, etc. – which are required for the second stage of program review. Final program approval must be granted before trainees are recruited. The overall process may take six months or more, so programs are encouraged to contact the Diane Sheehan in the GME Office early when considering a new program.

2017 GME ORIENTATION

The GME Office is delighted to welcome the ~750 interns, residents and fellows matriculating to GME programs across the Partners system in AY 2017-18.  This year the GME Office is hosting six orientation sessions, rather than four, to accommodate a variety of program-specific start dates. In addition to the two mid-June intern orientation programs at BWH and MGH, sessions for advanced (PGY2+) residents and fellows will be held on June 30th at both BWH and MGH.  Additional fellow orientations are being offered on both campuses on July 28th since fellowships in some specialties are moving toward later start dates. The in-person institutional orientation programs provide an opportunity for incoming trainees to meet the hospital Presidents, GME leaders, and other key institutional figures. These sessions reinforce important messages, such as having a low threshold for accessing help – both in the care of their patients and for their own needs.  Trainees are also encouraged to actively seek feedback from their attendings, peers and other care providers, and to provide their own feedback about the educational experience through committees and other mechanisms.  Other issues covered include: teaching medical students; resources for help in addressing various problems; and priorities such as professionalism and patient safety.

PD/PC WORKSHOP ON APE AND ADS UPDATE

In March, a joint program director and coordinator workshop was held at BWH and MGH. Irina Knyshevski from the GME Office discussed utilizing the required program evaluation processes to the programs’ advantage by completing a thorough Annual Program Evaluation (APE) and by communicating more effectively with the RRC regarding program improvements via the ACGME’s Accreditation Data System (ADS). Irina emphasized that a meaningful and efficient program improvement process requires a team effort, with engagement of the faculty, trainees, program and departmental leadership. She also stressed the importance of the APE process as the principal vehicle for program assessment and improvement. Rather than waiting for the results of program assessment by the institutional Annual Program Review sub-committee of GMEC, programs were encouraged to start identifying and working on issues as soon as data is available (such as RRC letters, results of the ACGME Resident and Faculty Surveys, and the GME Office’s Fall Resident Survey). The audience was reminded

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to utilize the Major Changes section in ADS to a) describe positive change in the program, b) acknowledge current or prior concerns along with planned or implemented interventions, and c) list any innovations that programs wishes to highlight to the RRC. Workshop participants were also reminded that, as in prior years, the GME Office offers to review each program’s Annual ADS Update along with responses to the citations and text for the Major Changes section in advance of their submission to the RRC.

GLOBAL HEALTH COE BLOG

Did you know that the Center of Expertise in Global and Humanitarian Health maintains a blog where the Resident and Fellow recipients of COE Travel Grants describe their travel experiences? Blog posts include individual stories and pictures highlighting each trainee’s experience.  You can sign up to receive automatic notification when the newest posts are published by emailing Sadie Barocas at sbarocas@partners.org or read the blog at your leisure at http://phsglobalhealth.blogspot.com/.

SAVE THE DATE

EDUCATION COMMITTEES

BWHEC

n September 8, 2017 9:00-11:00am in Zinner Boardroomn December 7, 2017 9:00-11:00am in Zinner Boardroom

PEC

n August 3, 2017 8:30-10:30am in BWH Zinner Boardroomn October 30, 2017 4:00-6:00pm in PRU Warren Hamilton

GMEC

n October 5, 2017 1:00-2:30pm in Trusteesn December 11, 2017 3:00-4:30pm in Trustees

PROGRAM DIRECTOR WORKSHOPS

“Preventing Burnout in Physicians: Wellness in Practice?” Alice Domar, PhD, Executive Director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health

n September 22, 2017 8:00-10:00am in BWH Zinner Breakout Room n September 28, 2017 6:00-8:00pm in MGH Haber Auditorium

PROGRAM COORDINATOR WORKSHOPS

“Best Practices in Recruitment” Alicja Martins, GME Program Manager

n September 14, 2017 10-11:30am in MGH Haber Auditorium n September 26, 2017 10-11:30am in BWH Zinner Breakout Room

TRAINEE EVENTS

BWH Resident and Clinical Fellow Orientation

n June 30, 2017 8:30am-4:30pm in Bornstein Amphitheatern July 28, 2017 8:30am-4:30pm in Bornstein Amphitheater

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MGH Resident and Clinical Fellow Orientation

n June 30, 2017 7:30am-4:30pm in O’Keefe Auditoriumn July 28, 2017 7:30am-4:30pm in O’Keefe Auditorium

COE Health Policy Course (March 5-9, 2018)

Applications received by June 19, 2018 will get priority and early response about acceptance or wait list assignment. However, applications will be accepted until October 2, 2018 as space allows.  

For dates, times and details on upcoming Center of Expertise events, please check the website:   http://www.partners.org/Graduate-Medical-Education/GME-At-Partners/calendar.aspx

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PARTNERS GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION OFFICES AND PERSONNEL

Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Neville) 617-732-8540

Massachusetts General Hospital (Bulfinch) 617-726-5440

Massachusetts General Hospital (Whittier Place) 617-643-6376

Sadie Barocas, MEd, COE Project Manager 617-525-7353

Lori Berkowitz, MD, Associate Director 617-726-5440

John Patrick T. Co, MD, MPH, Director 617-643-6378

Lisa DiPrizio-Monteiro, PORT Coordinator 617-726-0769

Carolyn Ellis, Administrative Assistant 617-643-6376

Mary Ellen Goldhamer, MD, MPH, Education Specialist 617-726-5440

Irina Knyshevski, Accreditation Manager 617-525-7005

Nancy Lam, Administrative Assistant 617-732-8540

Alicja Martins, Program Manager 617-643-6381

Eric Nadel, MD, Associate Director 617-732-8540

Anne Rigg, IT Project Specialist 617-732-6380

Patricia Salamone, Administrative Director 617-732-6065

Diane Sheehan, Senior Accreditation Manager 617-643-6382

Jean Tammaro, Administrative Assistant 617-726-5440

Debra Weinstein, MD, Partners Vice President for GME 617-726-5440

ISSUE CONTRIBUTORS: Sadie Barocas, MEd, John Co, MD, MPH, Irina Knyshevski, Nancy Lam, Patricia Salamone and Diane Sheehan. Editor: Alicja MartinsAdvisor: Debra Weinstein, MDDesigner: Arch MacInnes

PLEASE EMAIL ALICJA MARTINS AT AMARTINS4@PARTNERS.ORG WITH SUGGESTIONS OR CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR NEWSLETTER.